In the run-up to Christmas a lot of people like to eat out and enjoy themselves, but there are some places you might avoid when booking your festive feast.

Across the county, there are 17 restaurants, takeaways and stores rated zero on the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme - the lowest possible score for food safety and cleanliness.

This could mean cockroaches, mice infestations, mouldy surfaces and also, in some instances, sewage in food preparation areas.

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A zero rating means urgent improvement is required, according to the Food Standards Agency, which runs the national scheme.

For a zero rating to be issued, the premises raises serious concern - the rating does not come lightly.

Outlets visited also include food stores, which are added to this list.

Nollaig Hallihan, food safety team leader at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, said: "There would have to be quite a few things wrong with the premises.

"They would have to have a very poor overall score, including food hygiene and safety issues, food storage issues, issues with cross contamination.

"They could have issues with the structure, in that the structure is in poor repair.

"They could have no hot water to the sinks or they might not have a food safety management system in place.

"No one thing on its own would make a premises zero rated, they would have to a combination of things wrong to make it a zero-rated premises."

A zero star rating may also be given if, for example, a boiler is broken - yet a business must wait until the next inspection to have the rating updated, once the problem has been dealt with.

Despite the Christmas season being notoriously busy, the food safety team leader doesn't think standards will slip.

"Businesses that have got a good food safety management system in place will consider the risks within their business for the Christmas period," said Ms Hallihan.

"They will have additional staff that potentially they would have trained, and if they have got good procedures and good practices then those good practices would continue.

"So I wouldn't be concerned that standards would slip leading up to Christmas."

The inspection itself is made up of three main elements - the hygiene of the food, the cleanliness of work surfaces and appliances, and how well management keeps cleaning records and acts on criticism.

Ms Hallihan explained the inspection process: "Inspections are generally unannounced. Officers will arrive at the premises when they're due for inspection and they will look at those three areas.

As well as the 17 businesses that scored zero, a further 159 need to clean up their act, having scored just one on the rating system.

But don't worry if you want to go for a better bite to eat - you can head to one of Kent's 10,729 food outlets.

Ms Hallihan said: "We can't compare standards across the years as we don't have that data available.

"However, I can say that in the Borough of Tunbridge Wells at the moment, we've got 97% of our businesses which are broadly compliant.

"Putting that in perspective means that there are 25 businesses out of a total of around 1,000 businesses in the borough where they're rated zero to two, so it's a very small proportion of businesses that fall below the standards that are required.

"As a result, the council are able to put resources to those businesses and provide them with a single point of contact to ensure that we can help them to raise their standards."

Despite providing people with a more informed choice on where to eat, displaying ratings is not yet mandatory in England, unlike in Wales and Northern Ireland.

But the Food Safety Agency would like to change this, and by the end of the year, a case is expected to be ready to present to ministers, the start of the legislative process.

It took about two years in Northern Ireland, so the same could be expected for England.

The Food Safety Agency said: "The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme helps people choose where to eat out by giving information about hygiene standards.

"It’s not easy to judge these standards on the appearance of the premises and even ‘high-end’ businesses can have issues with hygiene.

"The rating, which is based on an inspection by a food safety officer from a local authority, gives people an idea of what’s going on in the kitchen and the things they can’t see, like germs spread by bad hygiene practices.

"The scheme recognises good businesses and encourages poorer businesses to improve."

We publish the latest available data. Perfect Fried Chicken in Gillingham has been re-inspected since the report published by the FSA. Under new management, it has now been awarded a five star rating. We are happy to clarify this.

During the most recent inspection of Lashings Sports Bar & Restaurant, of Upper Stone Street, Maidstone, in December 2015, the kitchen was rented to a third party and under-going refurbishment.

Lashings has since been re-inspected (on 12/12/2016), and has now gained four stars in the ratings.Tandoori Nights, Ashford has since been re-inspected (on Thursday, November 24) under new ownership and has now scored five.

All ratings correct as of 5pm on Thursday, November 24, according to the Food Standards Agency.